North Carolina Rabbit Hole

Latest Episodes:

Away Message S2 E7 | Stealing Bill Aug 16, 2018

Show notes

North Carolina's priceless copy of the Bill of Rights is kept out of sight in a secure underground vault, and for good reason: It was once stolen, hidden away for more than 100 years, then recovered in a spectacular FBI raid. In this extended episode, host Jeremy Markovich gets the inside story of how it all went down, directly from the people who were there.

View an online scan of North Carolina's copy of the Bill of Rights here.
Also in the vault: the Carolina Charter of 1663.

Music in this episode:

"Not Those Kind of People" by Bombadil
Additional music: Blue Dot Sessions

Special Thanks: North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Joe Torsella and the Pennsylvania Treasurer's Office

2005 press conference audio provided by WRAL-TV

Additional Reading:

Lost Rights: The Misadventures of a Stolen American Relic, by David Howard
Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures, by Robert K. Wittman and John Shiffman

Away Message S2 E6 |The Round of Golf That Changed A City Jul 27, 2018

Show notes

In 1955, a dentist and five of his friends played a round of golf. They were black. The course was white-only. What happened next changed the course of one man's life, and in turn, helped integrate an entire town.

"His Eye Is On The Sparrow" by Peter Lamb and the Wolves (feat. Maceo Parker)
Additional music: Blue Dot Sessions

Supreme Court audio via oyez.org.

George Simkins interview courtesy of the Community Voices project, housed at the Greensboro Public Library.

Special Thanks: Nebraska Douglas, Ralph Miller, Shirley Frye, Gerald Attaway, Bill Hill, plus Bob Brooks and the rest of the staff at Gillespie Golf Course.

The Greensboro Six were: Phillip Cooke, Samuel Murray, Elijah Herring, Joseph Sturdivent, George Simkins Jr., and Leon Wolfe.

Away Message S2 E5 |The Nuke They Left Behind Jul 03, 2018

Show notes

In 1961, a U.S. Air Force bomber crashed near Goldsboro, North Carolina, and the two thermonuclear bombs on board fell to the ground. Host Jeremy Markovich talks with the man who was sent to make sure those bombs didn't explode, and finds out why the Air Force left a crucial part of the weapon behind, somewhere below the surface.

Read more in Joel Dobson's book, "The Goldsboro Broken Arrow."

Away Message S2 Bonus | The Bridge To Nowhere Jun 22, 2018

Show notes

In this bonus episode, host Jeremy Markovich visits a majestic bridge that, for years, was never connected to any road, and finds out why its construction almost led to riots.

Read more about the bridge in this paper from Dr. Barak Richman.

Away Message S2 E4 | How To Get Away With Murder (In 1892) May 25, 2018

Show notes

What would happen if you stood in one state, then shot and killed someone in another? That scenario actually took place along the Tennessee-North Carolina border more than 100 years ago, and the murderer got away with it. But what's the real story? Host Jeremy Markovich spent months criss-crossing North Carolina to find answers that even the killer's family didn't know.

Read more stories from North Carolina's borders in Our State magazine's May 2018 issue.

Away Message S2 E3 | The Riches Underneath Charlotte May 10, 2018

Show notes

In this supersized episode, host Jeremy Markovich goes looking for Charlotte's original gold mines, and then gets inside a vault that's full of billions of dollars to understand how North Carolina's biggest city ended up being the place where the state stores its money.

Read more about Hugh McColl in this Our State magazine profile.
For pictures inside the vault and other goodies from this episode, visit the Away Message Facebook page.

Music in this episode:

"Gold Standard" by Supastition (Charlotte)
"Got To Go" by Boulevards (Raleigh)

Away Message S2 E2 | The Unsinkable Floating Houses of Fontana Apr 24, 2018

Show notes

On Fontana Lake, in far western North Carolina, sit hundreds of floating cabins, meant for fishing and weekend getaways. But when the homes were threatened with removal, the owners banded together and took their fight to Washington, DC, where they found themselves in the middle of a debate over what private citizens can do on public property.

Away Message S2 E1 | The Dream Returns Apr 03, 2018

Show notes

Dr. Martin Luther King once gave a speech in Rocky Mount, North Carolina that energized the city and changed the lives of the people in attendance. Now, after more than 50 years, a forgotten recording of that speech has resurfaced, and the discovery is providing new insight into how one of the most important men in American history came up with his most iconic phrase. In this episode, we listen to the speech with some of the people who were there on that day it was first delivered in 1962, and find out how such an important artifact was lost… and found.

Listen to more excerpts of the speech and read a transcript at kingsfirstdream.com/transcript/

A Preview of Away Message: Season 2 Mar 29, 2018

Show notes

In the next season of Away Message, we're heading out on a scavenger hunt of sorts. We're looking for hard to find places, lost artifacts, secrets, missing people, and forgotten stories. New episodes begin April 3, 2018.

Find all of Season 1's episodes and information about Season 2 at away.ourstate.com.

Away Message Bonus | The Voyager Who Didn't Call Back Feb 08, 2018

Show notes

In this bonus episode, host Jeremy Markovich finally hears back from a guy who never returned his call, and gets the greatest excuse he's ever heard. Plus, we find out what the future holds for this podcast.

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